Wednesday’s storm damages some homes, fills lakes

The line of storms that moved across Texas on Wednesday brought winds that gusted over 50 miles per hour, causing some damage in Breckenridge and Stephens County.

Several trees were uprooted and some buildings were damaged when a thunderstorm with high winds moved through the area on Wednesday. No injuries were reported to local authorities.(Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

“We’ve got two trailer houses in town that lost their roofs completely, rolled them off, and we had several trees down inside the city limits,” said Breckenridge Fire Chief Calvin Chaney. “And then north of town is where the most damage was, around the bus barn and north. We had, I think, three to four telephone poles blown down, and two more buildings lost their roofs in that area.”

Additionally, an oilfield company lost a couple of outbuildings, as well as two oil tanks that blew over a fence, taking out the electric lines.

The barn located at the corner of North Breckenridge Avenue and West Seventh Street collapsed during the storm. Owner Tommy Wimberley said it was used only for storing hay and there was no other damage to the property.

Some of the other issues included carports that were toppled by winds or falling trees, damaging the cars underneath.

Following the storm, more than 2,000 homes in this area were without power. By later Wednesday, the storm had moved eastward and as many as 60,000 homes statewide did not have electricity. Oncor was on the scene, repairing the damage, and the power was restored to most local homes by Thursday morning.

Chaney said there were no storm-related injuries reported to his department.

Wednesday’s storm also brought rain — up to about an inch in some areas of the county. Hubbard Creek Lake is full with a water level of 1,183.43 on Saturday morning, Dec. 29, according to the Texas Water Development Board’s Water Data website. Three flood gates were opened at Hubbard Creek Lake on Thursday morning to allow some of the excess water to flow out. Lake Daniel also was full and flowing over the spillway, Chaney reported on the BFD’s Facebook page Thursday morning.

The next chance for rain is on Sunday, Dec. 30. According to the National Weather Service, there is a slight chance of rain during the day on Sunday and a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms that night. After that, the forecast looks mostly sunny and bright through the first week of the new year, gradually warming up to a high of 61 on Friday.

Story by Tony Pilkington and Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan

Cutline, top photo: The barn that had been sheltering hay on the corner of North Breckenridge Avenue and West Seventh Street collapsed during Wednesday’s storm.(Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)